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Forum:TL-191 Reviews
I've realized something: I'm starting to feel so strongly about issues in HT's writing that I feel the need for a soap box. To that end I'm going to put up a series of reviews on Amazon. Start with TL-191 and go from there. I really don't know whether anyone will care enough to read them but I've got things I just feel like sharing and I figure, Hey, this is the Internet so I might as well. If anyone's interested I'll let you know when I start putting them up. If no one responds to this forum I'll assume no one here cares. Won't be offended. Turtle Fan 21:32, October 15, 2009 (UTC) :Let us know. TR 22:04, October 15, 2009 (UTC) ::Thanks, will do. Depending on how I feel when I get home tonight I might do HFR then. Turtle Fan 22:13, October 15, 2009 (UTC) :::Submitted reviews for HFR, AF, and WiH. I gave them four, four, and three stars respectively. HT's 90s writing style--slow, more thoughtful, better researched, with lots of gratuitous sex. Even as a teenager I found that last bit tiresome rather than exciting. I know one person who was turned off from the series altogether as a result. But taken all in all it was better than what we've gotten since . . . I tend to think of HB as the book where the current style emerged, and the first TL-191 book after it, DttE, is the first one I'm really going to slam. I ended the HFR review by saying "If this style had held throughout the series I would have enjoyed it more than I do the end product we got." Turtle Fan 05:27, October 16, 2009 (UTC) UPDATE: The HFR and AF reviews are up. The WiH review appears to have gotten rejected, probably due to length. It's hard to say everything I want to say about those books in 1000 words or less. I may or may not continue. It's not satisfying having to keep checking my word count. Wit is the first thing to go in the battle to shorten the review and if a review isn't witty I don't see any point to it. I'd consider doing it on some other venue but I really can't think of any other site where people who care would find it and people who find it would care. Oh well. Turtle Fan 03:33, October 20, 2009 (UTC) UPDATE: I rewrote the WiH review and did B at the same time. They're both up now. Look for John Jorgensen of Seoul, Korea. (I didn't bother updating that, first because I had forgotten it was even there and later because I realized that listing a hometown that's off the beaten track for most Anglophones will provide a bit of an attention-grabber.) The reviews are all titled, rather lamely, "Part X in a series." I also put up a review for TGS. Actually that's what prompted me to continue the TL-191 reviews: First I was so disgusted by TGS that I felt the need to lash out against it, and then after I'd gotten that out of my system I thought, Hmm, it's fun to write these reviews. So I will continue. I think I may even branch out into just about any book about which I've ever had strong feelings. Anyway, if you mosey on over and read any of my reviews I'd be obliged if you voted that you had found them useful. Turtle Fan 19:27, October 26, 2009 (UTC) Striking while the iron's hot, I've written all three AE reviews, so those should be going up soon. I realized I was more forgiving with them than with GW books: four stars for B&I and VO, four for AF and three for WiH. AF was better than VO and as good as B&I, and WiH was at least as good as VO, but I find I'm judging the books relative to the ones I'm reviewing in one session. I'm reserving the one- and two-stars for the SA books. I wish I could do reviews there on a scale of 1 to 10 so it would be more precise. Turtle Fan 04:09, October 27, 2009 (UTC) All my reviews are up now. I thought I was limited to 1000 words but it turns out I was limited to 5000 words, so the TG and IatD reviews are quite long. I felt a bit asinine when I saw how much screen they took up, but I've already gotten a Useful vote for TG, which has only been up a day, so I don't feel too bad. Also, it seems I've somehow found myself in a grudge match with Amazon's #1 reviewer, who gave TGS five stars, and that I am actually winning. Turtle Fan 15:35, November 3, 2009 (UTC) I'm now working on reviews of OA and USA, in preparation for LA. I'm enjoying this reviewing but it takes a lot of time to write and proofread 'em. Turtle Fan 04:53, November 15, 2009 (UTC) I've done a few TL-191 reviews in the past. I was never good at them; I think I spoiled way too much. The dislikes i got seem to confirm that. Jelay14 23:30, November 20, 2010 (UTC) :I was accused of doing that, particularly on the Atlantis reviews. I left them up and returned fire on the complainers. A review needs both summary and commentary, after all. Also, these things were huge so it's not like you're just going to stumble on the ending scene or anything. If you're that determined to avoid summary, you'd think a reader would have given up after the first two or three paragraphs, which should have made it clear this was going to include a thorough summary. :Anyway, I haven't done any in a while. I lost interest in them before long. Not even sure I reviewed W&E. I did put something up for all three Atlantis novels. Turtle Fan 00:14, November 21, 2010 (UTC) Amazon Vine My reviews never seemed to be all that popular and I pretty much lost interest in doing them awhile ago. Nevertheless, this morning they invited me to join Amazon Vine. That means I'll have the opportunity to buy upcoming books well before they're released as long as I review them before the actual release date to generate some buzz. I'll still have to pay the regular price. At the moment the only book for which I'm really planning on taking advantage of this program is The Big Switch. So, as with The Grapple, I may be able to throw up a bunch of articles long before the book comes out. If someone objects to me spoiling, I'll limit myself to the vaguest generalities. I may do that anyway; if I'm the only one who has the book, I may get tired of doing all the articles and updates single-handed. We'll see, I guess. Turtle Fan 01:16, March 20, 2011 (UTC) Timeline-191, Publisher: Hephaestus Books Any idea what this is? http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/timeline-191-including-hephaestus-books/1105982374 I'm guessing its a CD or DVD to be read on a computer, or perhaps an audio book but I can't tell. ML4E 20:15, December 3, 2011 (UTC) :Format wise, it's got a page count, so I'd assume it's in print. It could be a DVD-R in a large case, but the product description also includes its dimensions and weight. You'd need to know that for shipping no matter what the format, but it looks somehow booky to me. :Content wise, I've seen little booklets that purport to be a series or an author's body of work before, and include lists of phrases associated with that series in the subtitle. I've always assumed they're some sort of new off brand Cliff Notes, and they usually feel like they're unauthorized. This one certainly does. :If they were selling it for $5 or so I'd take a chance and order it just to satisfy curiosity. If it turned out not to include anything useful or interesting between the covers, I could still justify the purchase by calling it a rare collectible. As it is, I don't care to spend the online cost of a new hardcover book just to make the experiment. Turtle Fan 21:37, December 3, 2011 (UTC) Thanks. I also wondered if it were some sort of academic lit-crit type of work. I first saw it when I went to a local Chapters bookstore and found it in their electronic catalog machine. There wasn't a copy there or any other area bookstores so I tried online but only found various booksellers offering it without a description. ML4E 18:59, December 6, 2011 (UTC) TL-191 Reviews